The Vatican Information Service is a news service, founded in the Holy See Press Office, that provides information about the Magisterium and the pastoral activities of the Holy Father and the Roman Curia...[+]

VATICAN CITY, 29 JUL 2011 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for August is: "That World Youth Day in Madrid may encourage young people throughout the world to have their lives rooted and built up in Christ".

His mission intention is: "That Western Christians may be open to the action of the Holy Spirit and rediscover the freshness and enthusiasm of their faith".BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/ VIS 20110729 (80)

VATICAN CITY, 29 JUL 2011 (VIS) - Given below is a list of the major events involving Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy See which occurred between the months of April and July 2011.

APRIL

1: Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil C.SS.R., Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, India, dies at the age of 83.

1: Law 127 concerning the prevention and countering of the laundering of proceeds from criminal activities and of the financing of terrorism comes into force. The Law was published on 30 December 2010 together with the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI's "Motu Proprio" Apostolic Letter on the same subject.

7: The Holy Father receives in audience a group of bishops of the Syro-Malabar rite, at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

11: Benedict XVI receives the Letters of Credence of Filip Vucak, the new ambassador of Croatia to the Holy See.

11-13: Meeting of the Commission established by Benedict XVI in 2007 to study the most important issues regarding the Catholic Church in China.

12: Publication of a decree by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments establishing that the annual celebration of the Memorial of Blessed John Paul II be inserted into the calendar of the diocese of Rome and the dioceses of Poland, on 22 October.

13: Presentation of "Youcat", the Catechism of the Catholic Church aimed at the young, which will be distributed to participants in the twenty-sixth World Youth Day, to be held in Madrid from 16 to 21 August.

14: The Holy Father receives in audience Valdis Zatlers, president of the Republic of Latvia.

16: Benedict XVI, on his eighty-fourth birthday, receives the Letters of Credence of Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, the first woman to serve as Spain's ambassador to the Holy See.

18: Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, archbishop emeritus of Turin, Italy dies at the age of 86.

29: Inauguration of the exhibition: "John Paul II: Homage of Benedict XVI for the Beatification" in the Charlemagne Wing under the colonnade of St. Peter's Square.

30: Prayer vigil in preparation for the beatification of John Paul II, held in Rome's Circus Maximus in the presence of 200,000 people.

MAY

1: Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco Vicente, archbishop emeritus of Valencia, Spain, dies at the age of 80.

1: Second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI presides at the rite of beatification of John Paul II.

2: Holy Father receives in audience Bronislaw Komorowski, president of the Republic of Poland.

2: Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. presides at a Mass of thanksgiving for the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

3: The mortal remains of Blessed John Paul II are laid in the Chapel of St. Sebastian in the Vatican Basilica.

16: Holy Father receives a group of prelates from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

21: Benedict XVI converses via satellite with the crew of the International Space Station, on the occasion of the space shuttle Endeavour's last mission.

24: Presentation of the document "Family: Work and Celebration", a preparatory catecheses for the seventh World Meeting of Families. The gathering will take place in Milan, Italy, from 30 May to 3 June 2012.

26: Benedict XVI presides at the Rosary in the basilica of St. Mary Major, together with the bishops of Italy, and entrusts the people of Italy to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the country's political unification.

30: Holy Father receives a group of prelates from the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India at the end of their "ad limina" visit.

JUNE

3: Benedict XVI receives in audience Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.

4-5: Pope's Apostolic trip to Croatia.

9: The Holy Father receives the Letters of Credence of six new ambassadors to the Holy See: Stefan Gorda of Moldavia, Narciso Ntugu Abeso Oyana of Equatorial Guinea, Henry Llewellyn Lawrence of Belize, Hussan Edin Aala of Syria, Genevieve Delali Tsegah of Ghana, and George Robert Furness Troup of New Zealand.

11: The Holy Father receives two thousand Gypsies from various European countries, representing the 12 million Gypsies scattered across the continent.

17: Benedict XVI receives a group of Indian prelates (from Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, Pondicherry and Raipur), who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.

19: Holy Father makes a pastoral visit to the diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro.

30: Benedict XVI confers the first "Ratzinger Prize", an award established by the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI", to: Manlio Simonetti, an Italian layman and scholar of ancient Christian literature and Patrology; Olegario Gonzalez de Cardedal, a Spanish priest and professor of systematic theology, and Maximilian Heim, a German Cistercian, abbot of the monastery of Heiligenkreuz in Austria and professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology.

30: Cardinal Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky, archbishop emeritus of Berlin, Germany, dies at the age of 75.

JULY

4: The Holy Father inaugurates an exhibition in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, entitled: "The splendour of truth, the beauty of charity: Homage of sixty artists to Benedict XVI for the sixtieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood".

5: The Pope visits the headquarters of the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper, currently celebrating the 150th anniversary of its foundation. Its first edition appeared on 1 July 1861.

13: Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation, announces a new pastoral initiative being promoted by his dicastery. The initiative has the name of "Metropolis Mission" and will begin in Lent 2012.

21: Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek, archbishop emeritus of Minsk-Mohilev, Belarus, and former apostolic administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the diocese of Pinsk, dies at the age of 96.

24: Cardinal Virgilio Noe, archpriest emeritus of the Vatican Basilica, vicar general emeritus of the Pope for Vatican City State and president emeritus of the Fabric of St. Peter's, dies at the age of 89.

27: The Holy See and Malaysia decide by common accord to establish diplomatic relations at the level of apostolic nunciature on the part of the Holy See and of embassy on the part of Malaysia..../ VIS 20110729 (1130)